WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for The Agency episodes 1 & 2.
The first two episodes of the new Paramount+ political thriller series The Agency finds Michael Fassbender’s “Martian” in the thick of a potentially catastrophic CIA exposure. Created for American television by Jez and John-Henry Butterworth (Edge of Tomorrow, Ford v Ferrari), The Agency is an adaptation of the 2015 critically acclaimed French thriller series The Bureau created by Eric Rochant. Fassbender leads the cast of The Agency alongside Jeffrey Wright, Richard Gere, Katherine Waterson, John Magaro, Saura Lightfoot-Leon, and Jodie Turner-Smith.
Despite its promising source material and ensemble cast, The Agency has received mixed reviews, resulting in a negative Rotten Tomatoes score of 45% after its two-episode premiere on November 29, 2024. During The Agency episode 1 “The Bends” and episode 2 “Wooden Duck,” Fassbender’s “Paul Lewis” gets pulled out of a six-year undercover mission to help locate a missing CIA operative named Coyote who has the potential to reveal several long-term undercover missions in as many as nine countries. Due to the extreme circumstances, Paul, who’s known around the London CIA offices as the celebrated “Martian”, is brought in by his superiors Henry (Wright) and Bosko (Gere).
New episodes of
The Agency
release every Friday on Paramount+.
What Happened To Coyote After His DUI Arrest
Coyote was not given proper intoxication training because he was sober
As shown in The Agency episode 1, a CIA operative named Coyote was arrested after driving drunk and causing various damage while undercover in the eastern-Euspoean country Belarus. After he was arrested and jailed, Coyote soon disappeared, which sparked panic among the CIA as he was aware of valuable intel that could greatly compromise the entire organization.
Coyote, who quit drinking, previously said if he was ever drunk, it would likely be because his cover had been blown. After the first two episodes of The Agency, Coyote’s whereabouts remain unclear. Henry concludes that Coyote had either left the prison undetected or had been intercepted by opposing forces and was being held prisoner, which would be the worst-case scenario for the CIA.
Why The CIA Tortured Their Own Operative In Russia
They were testing to see if he was a Russian double agent
As Martian gets acquainted with the details surrounding Coyote’s disappearance, he gets sidetracked by an undercover Russian operative named Alexei who panics when he learns that his mission may be compromised because Coyote was aware of it. Rather than following protocol, which in this case would have been to standby, Alexei makes a bold run for it and books a flight to the United States. Martian works quickly to change his flight to make it seem like he is trying to visit his hospitalized brother. After arriving in Poland, Alexei is immediately intercepted by who he believes to be Russian operatives, when in reality they are United States ops who test Alexei to see if he’s a double agent.
What Does Martian Mean By Wooden Duck?
“Squeeze a wooden duck, it doesn’t quack.”
The title of episode 2 “Wooden Duck” is a major plot device in The Agency. Martian initially approaches Henry about the prospect of Alexei being a wooden duck and asks for him to be extracted for questioning. Henry and Bosko reluctantly agreed to pull Alexei out of his mission, which was an expensive but necessary move after a psychologist cleared that Alexei was a major risk to the CIA. Martian explains the concept of a wooden duck while Alexei is being interrogated in a shipping container he believes to be in Poland but is actually at the CIA base in London. Martian says to his colleague, “Squeeze a wooden duck, it doesn’t quack,” meaning that if Alexei doesn’t know any Russian intel, he won’t reveal it.
Why Charlie Was Ordered To Abort His Mission In Ukraine
Charlie’s Operation Felix was at risk of being compromised
Charlie is the brother-in-law of Henry, who is a field operative on an undercover mission in Ukraine code-named Felix. During a Zoom call at the end of The Agency episode 1, Henry reveals that he knows the name of Charlie’s operation, which Charlie subtly confirms. Henry doesn’t tell Charlie why he knows about Operation Felix but it’s because it’s one of the nine missions that could be compromised due to Coyote’s disappearance. In episode 2, Charlie gets a few messages saying that someone is planning to visit him tonight, which was code for “abort mission.” Charlie and the two other operatives disguised as doctors make a run for it and kill many troops on their way out of the country.
Is Alexei Really A Russian Double Agent?
Martian’s War and Peace tactic proved Alexei knows nothing
Alexei takes a brutal beating by the “Russian” operatives who accuse him of being an American spy. Alexei does not realize he is being tested and recorded by the CIA to determine whether or not he defected from his service. Martian orchestrates the line of questioning but eventually loses his patience, grabbing a ski mask and interrogating Alexei face to face. Martian finally brings Alexei to breaking point by naming off a list of “Russian intelligence officers” who are actually characters in Leo Tolstoy’s classic novel War and Peace. Because Alexei “confirmed” some of the War and Peace characters as Russian spies, he and Henry discover that Alexei actually is not a Russian double agent and doesn’t have any legitimate Russian intel.
Daniela’s First Undercover Mission Explained
She has to impress a professor and earn a competitive job in Tehran
Amidst all the chaos surrounding Coyote’s disappearance and Alexei’s panic, newcomer Daniela begins her training as a field agent under Martian, who is a ruthless but effective mentor. Daniela must learn how to speak Farsi for her undercover mission in Iran where she will assume the identity of a scholar from Spain. Daniela is told by Waterson’s Naomi that she is being sent to Tehran to identify Iranian nuclear engineers. She is to earn the respect and trust of a renowned Iranian professor and earn a job at the Institute of Geophysics. Her entire mission depends on her working at the Institute in order to make herself a valuable asset to the CIA and monitor Iranian nuclear developments.
What Was Sami Zahir Really Doing In London?
Sami has not been honest with Martian
The Agency episode 1 begins with the end of “Paul’s” relationship with his love interest in Ethiopia, Sami Zahir. He abruptly tells her that he is leaving that night and will likely never see her again. Shockingly, Sami Zahir turns up in London after Martian breaks protocol and contacts her after a deadly explosion takes place at a university in Ethiopia where she works. Sami explains that she is there for research purposes through her university but Martian finds out that she didn’t actually come to London for her education or her known job. What’s clear at the end of The Agency episode 2 is that whatever Sami is really up to, she has not been honest with Martian and may have some more skin in the game previously thought.
The Agency is a 2024 espionage thriller following covert CIA agent Martian, who is recalled to London Station, disrupting his undercover life. As a former romance rekindles, Martian’s career and true identity are jeopardized, leading him into a high-stakes world of international intrigue and deception.
- Cast
- Jeffrey Wright , Michael Fassbender , Jodie Turner-Smith , Saura Lightfoot Leon , Katherine Waterston , John Magaro , Alex Reznik , Harriet Sansom Harris , India Fowler , Reza Brojerdi , Richard Gere
- Character(s)
- Henry , Martian , Samia Zahir , Danny , Naomi , Owen , Coyote , Dr Blake , Poppy , Reza , Bosko
- Release Date
- November 29, 2024
- Seasons
- 1
- Network
- Paramount+ with Showtime
- Directors
- Joe Wright
- Producers
- Bob Yari , David Glasser , David Hutkin , George Clooney , Grant Heslov , Jez Butterworth , Michael Fassbender , Ron Burkle , Pascal Breton , John-Henry Butterworth , Nina L. Diaz , Grant Heslov
